News

Coe to lead Libs with Lawder as deputy

As predicted in the RiotACT on Saturday, the Canberra Liberals have voted in a new leadership team consisting of conservative former deputy leader Alistair Coe and his moderate Member for Brindabella colleague Nicole Lawder.

The pair were elected unopposed, with former Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson choosing not to run for either position.

Mr Coe said the team had been elected to take the Liberals through to the 2020 election.

“We’re both very excited about the opportunity that we have to make Canberra an even better place,” he said.

“Canberra’s a wonderful place. I was born here, I’ve spent my whole life here, I’m absolutely committed to Canberra, and I’m honoured by the trust that my colleagues have put in myself and Nicole Lawder to take us forward to the next election.”

He said there were challenges for the city, not least that we were at risk of becoming a two-pace society.

“At present, there is a population that can afford the rising cost of living, that can afford the cost of housing, that can afford all the other increases that we see on a daily basis,” he said.

“However, there’s also a large proportion of Canberrans that simply cannot keep pace with the cost of living in Canberra, and I’m very concerned about that.”

“We need to make sure that the ACT Government, and the ACT community, looks after all Canberrans. We cannot be a narrow government, we have to be a broad government.”

The Canberra Liberals were expected to choose a combination that was balanced in terms of age, gender and political stance in a bid to broaden their appeal in the progressive Canberra electorate.

Ms Lawder told the RiotACT prior to the ACT election that she was often asked about why she was a member of the Liberals given her background in the community sector.

“I sometimes say to people I’m about as far to the left of the Liberal Party as you can get,” Ms Lawder said at the time.

She had not been expecting to be considered for the role prior to this week, but said she was humbled by the trust her colleagues had placed in her.

“I’m very much looking forward to working with Alistair as the leader and the rest of my colleagues to make Canberra a better place,” Ms Lawder said.

“As many of you know, I’m very much connected to the community. I came from the community sector, and that’s something that I’ll be continuing to focus on.”

Ms Lawder said that she and Mr Coe had a good mix of skills and experience to bring to the leadership team.

“A new team always brings some new ideas,” she said.

“That doesn’t mean that the old ideas weren’t good, but it’s just a different way of working.

“There are things that obviously things that we might look to change, and listening to our colleagues and listening to party members and the broader Canberra community will be the first step.”

Asked about whether she had been selected to ensure a particular gender or ideological mix in the leadership team, Ms Lawder responded that she didn’t think so.

“I would certainly encourage you to think that I’ve been elected on my merits … I feel I have a lot to bring to the table.”

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said this afternoon that he had contacted Mr Coe and Ms Lawder to congratulate them on their election.

“Given the conservative nature of the Canberra Liberals we won’t often agree on policy and politics,” he said.

“However, I hope there are some issues where we can find common ground and work together in the Assembly.

“I would also like to acknowledge former Canberra Liberals Leader Jeremy Hanson. As I mentioned on election night, Mr Hanson fought a hard but fair election that was, in the main, focused on policy issues. I again thank him for that.”

Mr Barr said Mr Coe’s appointment represented “a further lurch to the right” for the Liberals.

“After Canberrans voted so decisively for light rail, elevating the individual that has spent the last few years crusading against the project is passing strange,” he said.

lol i didnt think the liberals could get any worse and then this. Mr Coe is no leader and to say he doesnt need to hit the ground running in his new job shows how silly he is. a swing against the liberal party tells me you need to hit the ground sprinting.

I, like many others in Canberra, now accept that the everGreen Labor party will be re-elected forever in Canberra so we should simply roll with punches and get on with our miserable lives.

Accordingly, any comments like “Mr Coe is no leader” are academic as he will never be called on to lead a government in our tin-pot territory.

everGreen Labor Party isn’t bad, but how about Watermelon Coalition?

Watermelons have a shelf life.

EverGreen is imperishable.

I see your point, but wouldn’t the LDA and CFMEU deals suggest the Watermelon is starting to go bad but its still sitting on the shelf at the back of the fridge, with the owners seemingly having no sense of smell?

The same owners can’t smell the odour emanating from the Mugga Lane Landfill/Resource Management Centre, either.

lol i didnt think the liberals could get any worse and then this. Mr Coe is no leader and to say he doesnt need to hit the ground running in his new job shows how silly he is. a swing against the liberal party tells me you need to hit the ground sprinting.

I, like many others in Canberra, now accept that the everGreen Labor party will be re-elected forever in Canberra so we should simply roll with punches and get on with our miserable lives.

Accordingly, any comments like “Mr Coe is no leader” are academic as he will never be called on to lead a government in our tin-pot territory.

everGreen Labor Party isn’t bad, but how about Watermelon Coalition?

Watermelons have a shelf life.

EverGreen is imperishable.

I see your point, but wouldn’t the LDA and CFMEU deals suggest the Watermelon is starting to go bad but its still sitting on the shelf at the back of the fridge, with the owners seemingly having no sense of smell?

lol i didnt think the liberals could get any worse and then this. Mr Coe is no leader and to say he doesnt need to hit the ground running in his new job shows how silly he is. a swing against the liberal party tells me you need to hit the ground sprinting.

I, like many others in Canberra, now accept that the everGreen Labor party will be re-elected forever in Canberra so we should simply roll with punches and get on with our miserable lives.

Accordingly, any comments like “Mr Coe is no leader” are academic as he will never be called on to lead a government in our tin-pot territory.

lol i didnt think the liberals could get any worse and then this. Mr Coe is no leader and to say he doesnt need to hit the ground running in his new job shows how silly he is. a swing against the liberal party tells me you need to hit the ground sprinting.

I, like many others in Canberra, now accept that the everGreen Labor party will be re-elected forever in Canberra so we should simply roll with punches and get on with our miserable lives.

Accordingly, any comments like “Mr Coe is no leader” are academic as he will never be called on to lead a government in our tin-pot territory.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to predict Coe in the leadership back in a post from earlier in October which supported the crazy notion of Guilia Jones being handed the deputy position. It wasn’t a stab in the back as Jeremy fell on his sword.

I suspect, given what I have heard him go on the record saying since the election (basically that he feels there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that the Liberals went backwards because they are perceived by their own lay party and the electorate as being too far to the right), that he feels that he can’t personally go any further right, so he may as well let Coe take the reins. They seem to believe that because Zed got closer than anyone has in a long while to being Chief Minister, that it indicates Canberra wants to lurch further that way. It was probably more bound up as Malcolm Mackerras recently commented, in a backlash to the federal Labor government of the time. We know it happens.

The dwindling vote in Brindabella this time I believe was related to the fact that Zed upped and left, and that the Liberals are not seen to have any vision. I live in Brindabella and I ‘laundered’ my vote through a few independents before placing it with a party. I have no idea where it ended up to be honest (let’s just say definitely not Labor). And that’s the general feeling – that no one wanted to expressly vote for either party, but if they had to, maybe it went through the wash first by way of making a point.

I don’t believe Coe is wrong for the job per se, however his smarts are more bound up in back room dealing and maneuvering and not so much in divining the needs and desires of the electorate. He probably has more ability to take a fight up to the government. Who knows, he may be able to combine his ultra right wing mindset with a less right wing delivery method, but that remains to be seen. Given they still went backwards in Brindabella – the heartland of dissatisfaction with Labor, I think they are pushing ‘it’ uphill.

The other fact that can’t be ignored is that Jeremy got a great personal vote. Why anyone would resign the top job with that kind of pulling power doesn’t make any sense unless he really does believe the whispers in his ear. From all accounts Elizabeth Lee declined the deputy position – smart lady. But instead we get the second choice who will have limited effect.

Nice post. If Hanson really did not contest, and it wasn’t just a matter of Coe had the votes and Hanson knew it so he didn’t bother trying to hold it, then I’m quite disappointed in him. Even if he didn’t want to stay leader long term he would have served the party better by remaining as leader now and ensuring the process of finding out what went wrong proceeded without fear or favour. Given Coe’s rumoured backroom strength in the party, its entirely possible that at least as much fault for the result lies with Coe as with Hanson. Holding on for a while would have also given the new chums a chance to settle in, and once they have there’s always the possibility that a better leadership prospect would emerge.

lol i didnt think the liberals could get any worse and then this. Mr Coe is no leader and to say he doesnt need to hit the ground running in his new job shows how silly he is. a swing against the liberal party tells me you need to hit the ground sprinting.

I, like many others in Canberra, now accept that the everGreen Labor party will be re-elected forever in Canberra so we should simply roll with punches and get on with our miserable lives.

Accordingly, any comments like “Mr Coe is no leader” are academic as he will never be called on to lead a government in our tin-pot territory.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to predict Coe in the leadership back in a post from earlier in October which supported the crazy notion of Guilia Jones being handed the deputy position. It wasn’t a stab in the back as Jeremy fell on his sword.

I suspect, given what I have heard him go on the record saying since the election (basically that he feels there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that the Liberals went backwards because they are perceived by their own lay party and the electorate as being too far to the right), that he feels that he can’t personally go any further right, so he may as well let Coe take the reins. They seem to believe that because Zed got closer than anyone has in a long while to being Chief Minister, that it indicates Canberra wants to lurch further that way. It was probably more bound up as Malcolm Mackerras recently commented, in a backlash to the federal Labor government of the time. We know it happens.

The dwindling vote in Brindabella this time I believe was related to the fact that Zed upped and left, and that the Liberals are not seen to have any vision. I live in Brindabella and I ‘laundered’ my vote through a few independents before placing it with a party. I have no idea where it ended up to be honest (let’s just say definitely not Labor). And that’s the general feeling – that no one wanted to expressly vote for either party, but if they had to, maybe it went through the wash first by way of making a point.

I don’t believe Coe is wrong for the job per se, however his smarts are more bound up in back room dealing and maneuvering and not so much in divining the needs and desires of the electorate. He probably has more ability to take a fight up to the government. Who knows, he may be able to combine his ultra right wing mindset with a less right wing delivery method, but that remains to be seen. Given they still went backwards in Brindabella – the heartland of dissatisfaction with Labor, I think they are pushing ‘it’ uphill.

The other fact that can’t be ignored is that Jeremy got a great personal vote. Why anyone would resign the top job with that kind of pulling power doesn’t make any sense unless he really does believe the whispers in his ear. From all accounts Elizabeth Lee declined the deputy position – smart lady. But instead we get the second choice who will have limited effect.

lol i didnt think the liberals could get any worse and then this. Mr Coe is no leader and to say he doesnt need to hit the ground running in his new job shows how silly he is. a swing against the liberal party tells me you need to hit the ground sprinting.